REPLY 



OF 



WILLIAM LEE 

• « 

TO THE CHARGES OP 

SILAS DEANE. 
1779. 



EDITED BY 

WORTHINGTON CHAUNCEY FORD 



BROOKLYN, N. Y. : 

HISTORICAL PRINTING CLUB. 

1891. 









IN EXCHANGE 
rlew York TLblio Library 

JUN 27 mi2" 



One Hundred Copies Printed. 

No. .7/,...... 



NOTE. 

This defence of William I>ee, the representative of 
the Continental Congress' at the Courts of Vienna and 
Berlin, to the chafges made by Silas Deane in Decem- 
ber, 1778, is taken from the Letters of William Lee t 
now in press. I have inserted in the proper place his 
letter to the President of Congress, 5 October, 1777. 

WORTHINGTON ChAUNCEY FORD, 

Brooklyn, N. Y., May, 1891. 



TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. 

Paris, 17 March, 1779. 
Sir: 

Your Excellency will most particularly oblige 
me by laying the enclosed papers before The Hon- 
orable Congress of the United States of America, as 
soon as they come to your hands,, with my most 
humble respects and duty, and I trust their good- 
ness will excuse the length of them; for the field 
that Mr. Deane has open'd is so large, and the 
matter so abundant, that it was impossible to com- 
prise even a summary state, so as to be clearly un- 
derstood within a shorter compass. 

I have the honor to be, with the highest respect 
and consideration. 

Your Excellencies, &c. * 



TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. 

8 March, 1779. 
Sir: 

I had not been a great while in France, before I 

was convinced, from observing the extraordinary 

manner in which the public business of America 

was conducted, that some day or other a public 

* Endorsed. " Read August 30." Although the defence is 
dated the Sth of March, I place it after the letter of transmittal. 

(5) 



enquiry into those proceedings must take place ; 
therefore, as my duty to my country call'd upon 
me to do, I observ'd with attention such facts and 
circumstances as came within my knowledge; tho' 
it must be confess' d that, almost on every occasion, 
infinite pains seem'd to be taken by the parties 
most concern' d in those extraordinary transactions, 
to keep me as much in the dark as possible; there- 
fore 'tis reasonable to suppose that what I did 
know and observe, is by no means the whole of 
what was done against the interest and benefit of 
America. 

I had some time since drawn up a short note of 
several facts, to be at the public service whenever 
the day of enquiry should arrive; but a late publi- 
cation in the London newspapers, said to be taken 
from Dunlap's Pennsylvania Packet of December 
the 5th, 1778, signed S. Deane, and addressed "to 
the free and virtuous Citizens of America," which 
has just come to my hands, renders it necessary 
that I shoud enlarge a little; but I will endeavor 
to avoid prolixity, as far as a strict regard to truth, 
and a clear exposition of facts will admit; which 
will oblige me in the course of this narrative, often 
to mention the name of Dr. Franklin, his nephew, 
Mr. Jonathan Williams, as well as of other persons. 

Mr. Deane, in the letter above mentioned, says : "In 
Februar)^, 1777, I received a notification of the appoint- 
ment of William L,ee, Esq^, to be one .of your Commer- 



cial Agents in Europe, of which. I gave him notice. 
As your commercial affairs were, at that time, in such 
a state as to require much attention and care, I press' d 
this gentleman, then in England, to come over immed- 
iately, and execute his office ; but heard nothing from 
him till the month of June, when he arrivd at Paris. 
At this place he continued till about some time in 
August, when he went to Nantes. There he was 
loudly calld to regulate certain affairs, which he pru- 
dently declin'd ; lest, as he observed, his property in 
England should be affected. In September or October 
he return 'd to Paris, and there receivd his appoint- 
ment of Commissioner to the Courts of Vienna and 
Berlin. He continued nevertheless, inactive at Paris, 
until the month of December, carefully concealing his , 
appointments, which might indeed have militated 
against his office of Alderman of the city of London, 
which he had then, and probably does still retain. 
When the news of General Burgoy lie's defeat and sur- 
render arrivd, it produced a revolution in the minds 
of many, and among others, inspired j T our commercial 
agent and political Commissioner, the Honorable 
William L,ee, EsqT, with some degree of activity in 
your favor. That I may not be under a necessity of 
mentioning this Gentleman again, I add here, that he 
hath since gone to Vienna, having first appointed 
sundry commercial agents for you at the several ports, 
and in one instance remov'd the person* who had 
faithfully done your business for 2 p T . C l , in favor of 

* Here a note of Mr. Deane's letter mentions Mr. Williams 
as being the person displaced by me. 



8 

another, who is to receive 5 p^ C*, of which, as well as 
of the like Commission at other places, Mr. Lee receives 
a share, for superintending at Vienna the business on 
your account, a thousand miles from his place of resi- 
dence." 

I have with design put the whole of Mr. Deane's 
charge against me here, because the following state 
of facts will be the compleatest answer that can be 
given, and will shew at the same time what induc'd 
Mr. Deane to make it. 

Mr. Deane says "that in February, 1777, I re- 
ceiv'd a notification of the appointment of William 
Lee, EsqT , to be one of your Commercial Agents 
in Europe, of which I gave him notice. As your 
Commercial affairs were, at that time, in such a 
state as to require much attention and care, I 
press'd this Gentleman, then in England, to come 
over immediately and execute his office; but heard 
nothing from him till the month of June." 

About the 21st. of April, 1777, I receivd by the 
Penny Post in London, a letter from the Honorable 
Silas Deane, EsqT , dated Paris, March the 30th, 
1777, directed thus — "To Alderman William Lee, 
Esq 1 ", London," in M T . Deane's hand-writing and 
sealed with the initial letters of Mr. Deane's name, 
vizt. S. D. Mr. Deane's hand-writing being then 
well known in London, and his name just before, 
having been often mentioned in almost every com- 
pany and public Gazette in England, in conse- 



qnence of the proceedings of John the Painter, I 
thought at the first moment, that the letter was a 
snare laid for me by the tools of the ministry; not 
then conceiving that it was possible for Mr. Deane, 
who had been entrusted by Congress, to be capable 
of such indiscretion, or that he had any latent de- 
sign of injuring me, with whom, at that time, he 
had no connection, or of injuring my relations, 
who had never given him any offence that I knew 
of. The sequel will shew whether I judg'd too 
favorably of Mr. Deane or not. In this letter, Mr. 
Deane only informs me, that the Secret Committee 
of Congress had appointed me joint Commercial 
Agent with Mr. Thomas Morris, and desirino- mv 
immediate answer, whether I wou'd accept the ap- 
pointment or not, as he was to write to America in 
a few days, and wish'd to communicate my resolu- 
tion ; without saying a single word about the 
state, nature, or situation of the commercial affairs 
in France ; or in the most distant manner hinting, 
that my presence was necessary or wishd for : on 
the contrary, the whole spirit of the letter seemed 
to say " You need not come." 

On the same day that Mr. Deane wrote the above 
laconic letter of advice to me, he wrote the follow- 
ing letter to Mr. Jonathan Williams, Dr. Frank- 
lin's nephew, who had left London, and gone to 
Paris in about six weeks after Dr. Franklin's ar- 
rival in France, and was then at Nantes. 



IO 

Paris, 30 March, 1777. 
Dear Sir : 

I wrote you a few days since that we had purchasd 

the whole Magazine of Monthieu, and inclosed you his 

order for the delivery. From all appearances of affairs 

we shall have many concerns at Nantes for some time, 

and as I have great confidence in } r ou, desire you woud 

in return have so much in me as freely to state the 

terms on which you can undertake our business, as I 

can by no means feel easy at your being in a state of 

uncertainty on that subject, and it is on our side proper 

that we should fix on some certain conditions. It is 

probable that our affairs may amount to five or six 

hundred thousand livres at Nantes in the course of this 

year, and if } 7 ou determine on fixing at Nantes it may 

give you a good introduction. 

The ordinary post from Paris to Nantes is three 
days, and three days from Nantes to Paris, so that 
Mr. Deane might have had Mr. Williams' answer 
with ease, near a fortnight before I received his 
letter above mentioned: Every person is left to 
judge for himself of the probability of this answer 
being receivd, before the letter to me was sent from 
Paris. 

It is proper to mention here, that notwithstand- 
ing Mr. Deane acknowledges he was advisd in 
February, 1777, that I was appointed one of the 
Commercial agents; yet Dr. Franklin and himself 
enterd into a contract in behalf of Congress, with 
the Farmers General of France on the 24th of 



II 



March, 1777, to deliver in France in the course of 
that year five thousand hogsheads, or five million 
pounds of James and York River tobacco (the best 
kind that is made in that State) at the rate of forty 
livres for every hundred French pounds, which 
make above 107 pounds English, with an allow- 
ance of 4 p r . ct. and eight pounds pT hhd. to be de- 
ducted from the weight of the tobacco; 2 p r . ct. dis- 
count on the money, and all damaged or rotten 
tobacco to be cut off; which on some occasions 
might amount to 40 or 50 p r . C* more; also all the 
tobacco that Congress could send to France over 
and above the 5000 hogsheads, was to be delivered 
to the Farmers General on the same terms, and at 
the same price; altho' it was then publickly known 
that W. Thomas Morris, as commercial agent, had 
contracted in the month of January preceding 
with the same Farmers General for all the tobacco 
that shoud arrive in any of the ports of France on 
the public account, during the continuance of the 
then existing war with Great Britain, either of the 
growth of any part of Maryland or Virginia, at the 
rate of seventy livres for every quintal or hundred 
pounds; the hogshead to be weighed with the to- 
bacco, and from the gross weight 26 p^ c* was to be 
deducted for the weight of the cask, trett (?) dam- 
age, and every other kind of allowance whatsoever. 
I shall not make any remarks either on this pro- 
ceeding of the two honorable commissioners, nor 



12 



on the difference of advantage to America in the 
two contracts; the meanest capacity is capable of 
forming a clear judgment on both; but I must 
mention, that at this time Dr. Franklin being not 
only sole minister to the Court of France, but also 
superintending commercial agent, all the tobacco 
that arrives now on public account is delivered to 
the Farmers General under this unequal contract 
made by Dr. Franklin and Mr. Deane, which 
hardly pays the first cost, exclusive of the freight, 
insurance, &c. 

But to return to myself. Altho' the manner of 
Mr. Deane's letter coming to my hands, its unus- 
ual direction, and its contents, occasion'd many re- 
flections in my mind ; yet the urgent desire I not 
only then had, but always had and still have, to 
serve my country, immediately decided me to ac- 
cept the appointment. But I cannot suppose there 
is any man in the world, who will not join with me 
in opinion, that it would have been folly in the 
extreme to answer Mr. Deane by the post ; because 
my letter being intercepted, would have been suf- 
ficient ground for my being put in prison, where I 
might have remained untryd to this moment : 
especially too, as at that time I knew that spys 
were set to watch me, when I went out of my 
house, in consequence of an information having 
been given to a Secretary of State, that I was con- 
cerned in a conspiracy with some of the most 



13 

respectable persons in England, to take away the 
King's life.* 

I waited therefore to find a private conveyance, 
and on the 30th of the same month of April 1777, 
by an American gentleman, who left London that 
night to go directly to Paris, I wrote to Mr. Deane 
that I had receivd his letter, and would go over to 
France to execute the appointment, as soon as I 
cond possibly settle my affairs in England. 

This letter Mr. Deane acknowledged to me in 
Paris that he had receivd. Indeed he could not 
quite so well havedenyd it; because the gentleman 
happened to be there in Town. I also wrote to my 
Brother, Arthur Lee, then one of the commission- 
ers in France, on the 2? of May following, that I 
wou'd go to France, as soon as it was possible to 
execute the appointment, and requesting him to 
communicate this determination to those whom it 
concerned. This letter Mr. A. Lee received, and 
did communicate my determination to Dr. Frank- 
lin and Mr. Deane, before he left Paris to go to 
Berlin, which was on the 15th of May, 1777. Mr. 
A. Lee is now in possession of my letter, and is 
ready to verify, when called upon, that he did 
make this communication. I set to work with the 
greatest diligence to settle my affairs ; well know- 
ing that when I left England it must be forever, 

* An absurd matter, for which Sayre was arrested and put in 
the Tower. 



and probably, too, all the property that I left be- 
hind me : but every one in the least conversant in 
trade will know, that it must require a consider- 
able time for any London Merchant, who has been 
in a pretty extensive commerce for upwards of 
seven years, to settle finally and close all his busi- 
ness. However, hearing from general report, that 
the commercial affairs of America in France were 
in disorder, and very ill conducted, I determined to 
sacrifice my private concerns, to the public service 
of my Country; and for that end, to leave London 
immediately. As it was impossible in so short a 
time to settle my own business fully, I was obliged 
to leave it unfinish'd, and much of my property 
behind ; by which I can make it appear that my 
private fortune has suflferd to the amount of sev- 
eral thousand pounds sterling. Added to this, I 
left Mrs. Lee not recovered from her lying in, with 
an infant about three weeks old. I quitted London 
the 7 1 . 11 of June, 1777, and arriv'd in Paris the n 1 . 11 
of June : I wrote to Mr. Deane immediately, in- 
forming him of my arrival, and of my being some- 
what fatigued with my journey, which prevented 
my waiting on him that evening ; but that I wou'd 
do myself the pleasure of calling on him the next 
morning, if he would be so good as to let me know 
what hour woud be most agreeable to him. To 
this I receivd in answer the following curious 
card : 



i5 

Mr. Deane has the honor of presenting his compli- 
ments to Mr. L,ee. Mr. Deane will be at his Hotel to- 
morrow morning at 10 o'clock." 

Notwithstanding this reply, I went to Mr. Deane 
precisely at 10 o'clock the next morning, vizt, 
June the 12th. I told him that I was come in con- 
sequence of the letter he had been pleased to write 
to me, informing me of the Secret Committee of 
Congress having appointed me their Commercial 
Agent, and desired to know if he had the appoint- 
ment. He replyd he had not. I then askd, if he 
or the other Commissioners had any authority, 
under which I cou'd act. He answered that he 
had not, nor did he believe the other Commission- 
ers had; but he had a private letter from Robert 
Morris, EsqT , Chairman of the Secret Committee, 
mentioning my appointment, and desiring him to 
give me notice of it; but the letter being a long 
one, and chiefly on private business, he cou'd not 
give it to me. He then entered into a long detail 
about the conduct of Mr. Thomas Morris, joint 
agent with me, and said that a Mr. Ross (a Scotch 
Merchant that had been some time in Philadelphia, 
but had left it in 1776, and gone to Hamburgh, 
from whence he had come at the request of Robert 
Morris, EsqT ) was then at Nantes, settling the 
former transactions of Mr. Thomas Morris; which 
were in a very disordered state, and until Mr. Ross 
had finished that business, he thought it wou'd not 



i6 

be adviseable for me to go to Nantes; however 
when Dr. Franklin came, who was expected every 
moment, they woud talk over the business to- 
gether. I replyd that I thought it my duty, and 
that I was ready and willing to render the public 
every service in my power; however, being entirely 
unacquainted with the nature, extent and situation 
of the Committee's business, and also of the then 
state of politics in France, I shou'd submit my 
conduct wholly to the direction of himself and 
Dr. Franklin, who, knowing those things at that 
time much better than myself, were the best judges 
of what was proper to be done for our Country's 
benefit. I waited for Dr. Franklin till 2 o'clock, 
who not coming when dinner being ready to be 
brought on the table, and not being asked to stay 
longer, I went away, but was desird by Mr. Deane, 
to call again in the evening, as Dr. Franklin woud 
certainly be there then. I did call at Mr. Deane' s 
the same evening, but did not have the pleasure of 
meeting Dr. Franklin. I went to Passy the next 
morning, when Dr. Franklin was come to town. 
I return'd to Mr. Deane's where I found Dr. Frank- 
lin. After waiting in an ante-chamber about an 
hour and a half, I had the honor of a conference 
with the two gentlemen, Dr. Franklin and Mr. 
Deane, which was nearly the same as what had 
passd the day before between Mr. Deane and my- 
self; and the conclusion was, their joint opinion 



*7 



and advice, that I should not go to Nantes, till 
Mr. Ross had finished the business he was then 
about; especially too, as it did not appear, that I 
had any regular authority from the Committee to 
act I waited accordingly in Paris 'till the latter 
end of July (except a little excursion of a few days 
to Havre de Grace) very frequently calling on Mr 
Deane, and often on Dr. Franklin; to both of whom 
I always express'd my anxiety to enter on the pub- 
lic business, if there was any for me to do Mr 
Deane, who kept up the correspondence at Nantes' 
and indeed seem'd on all occasions to act the part 
of the principal mercantile agent, continually re- V 
plyd, that Mr. Ross had not finishd the business 
he was upon; but expected to end it very soon 
About the latter end of June, while I was thus 
waiting in Paris, under the directions of Mr Deane 
and Dr. Franklin, several prizes were sent into 
France, that had been taken by the Continental 
armd vessels; Reprisal, Capt. Wickes; Lexington, 
Capt. Johnson; and Dolphin, Captain Nicholson. 
These prizes Mr. Thomas Morris claimd the dis-' 
posal of, under the Secret Committee's appoint- 
ment and instructions; but Mr. Deane thouo-ht 
proper to order Mr. Williams to get possession^ 
and dispose of them; and when Capt. Wickes who ' 
acted as Commodore, returnd into port, he had 
orders from Mr. Deane to put the prizes made by 
his little squadron into the hands of Mr. Williams, 



i8 

who was also appointed to superintend the refitting 
of these armd vessels. These orders and direc- 
tions of Mr. Deane, he says, were given with the 
consent and approbation of Dr. Franklin. Be that 
as it will, Mr. Morris opposd the execution of 
them, and remonstrated against them by letters to 
Mr. Deane, to whom he sent a copy of the Com- 
mittee's instructions relative to prizes sent into 
France. This made no alteration in Mr. Deane's 
conduct; and what is still more remarkable, tho' I 
had been in Paris for some time, and was then 
waiting there, under the advice of Dr. Franklin 
and Mr. Deane, always ready at any moment to 
enter on the public business, for which purpose I 
had left England, the whole of this transaction 
about the prizes was kept a profound secret from 
me. About the latter end of July, when Mr. Mor- 
ris's opposition had given Mr. Deane's agent, Mr. 
Williams, a good deal of trouble; and seemd as if 
Mr. Morris was determin'd to thwart the schemes 
that had been plan'd to take his business from him 
(the day my Brother, Arthur Lee, returned to Paris 
from Berlin), Mr. Deane told me that he under- 
stood my letters of appointment, from the Secret 
Committee of Congress were then, and had been 
for some time, in the hands of Mr. Morris at Nantes; 
and as Mr. Ross had not been able to com pleat the 
settlement of Mr. Morris's former transactions, he 
thought I had better go down to Nantes. I waited 



19 

on Dr. Franklin at Passy the next morning, and 
informal him of what Mr. Deane had told me the 
day before; when Dr. Franklin agreed in opinion 
with Mr. Deane, that it was adviseable for me to 
go to Nantes; but neither by the one nor the other 
was a syllable mention'd to me about the affair of 
the prizes. 

They then wrote me the following letter: 

c . Paris, 31 July, 1777. 

Sir: 

The hope of obtaining previously by means of Mr. 
Ross a clear state of Mr. Morris's proceedings in the 
commercial affairs of the Congress (which was our in- 
ducement to advise your stay here for some time) being 
vanish'd, we now think it prudent and right for you to 
proceed to Nantes as soon as possible, and there take 
such measures as to you shall appear most for the 
public interest, which we accordingly advise you to do ; 
and are with great esteem, sir, your most obedient 
hble servants. B . Frankun, 

„. _ Sieas Deane. 

Wm. Lee, Esqr 

I accordingly left Paris in the morning of the 
2nd. of August to proceed to Nantes. I hope to be 
excused for mentioning here a circumstance, tho' 
it does not immediately relate to me; because it 
marks, as strongly as what has preceded, the spirit 
with which the public business of America was 
conducted at that time at Paris. 



20 



Early in June, 1777, the owner of the ship Rich- 
ard Penn, mounting 14 guns (a sufficient force then 
to keep off the British letters of mark, a fine vessel 
and good sailer, built at Philadelphia) came to 
Paris and offerd to sell her to the commissioners, 
to carry stores, &c, to America. She cou'd have 
been in a very few weeks in any port of France 
ready to take in her Cargo for America. The 
owner, I believe, did not wish for a higher price 
than ^2500 sterling or at the most ^3000 sterling. 
This offer, however, was refus'd, because it was 
plan'd for Mr. Williams to buy a vessel at Nantes, 
just then put upon the stocks, which did not sail 
from France 'till the last of February or March, 
1778, and cost the public about ,£15,000 sterling. 
It was also plan'd, to serve another favorite, to buy 
an old vessel at Havre de Grace; which, after much 
expence, and remaining in port several months, 
was sold,- or the property chang'd, at how much 
loss to the public, I will not pretend to say; and 
also to serve some other purpose, a large and ex- 
traordinary vessel in her construction, was began 
to be built in Holland, which after costing up- 
wards of 300,000 livres of the public money, was 
left where she was began to be built, and I be- 
lieve at this moment has not been fitted to go 
to sea. From these proceedings, and a multitude 
of others of a similar, or more glaring nature, 
it happened that the supplies for the army, which 



21 



were ordered in September or October, 1776, were 
not all even despatched from France 'till February 
and March, 1778; altho' during that period several 
millions of public money pass'd thro' the Commis- 
sioners' hands; or at least were disburs'd under 
their directions. 

Such proceedings certainly merit public enquiry; 
and no doubt that will take place, when things are 
more compos'd than they are at the present. It 
was many days after my arrival at Nantes, before 
I coud get a sight of Mr. Morris: but at the first 
interview he inform'd me of the before mention' d 
transactions relative to the prizes; which 'till that 
moment had been conceal'd from me; and com- 
plain'd as much of Mr. Deane's conduct in general, 
as Mr. Deane had before complain' d of him. As 
I was conscious of having been in Paris before the 
commencement of this transaction; and had been 
waiting there during the whole time of its negotia- 
tion, under the express advice of Dr. Franklin and 
Mr. Silas Deane, and to their knowledge ready at 
any moment to enter on the public business; it 
appear' d wonderfully strange that neither of these 
gentlemen had said one word to me on the subject: 
especially as Mr. Morris inform'd me there had 
been a considerable correspondence about it. On 
further enquiry, I found that Mr. Williams, in 
consequence of his orders, had, with the assistance 
of some Frenchmen, one of them named Peltier du 



22 

Doyer, got possession of some of those prizes, 
which then remain'd unsold, and continued so 
when I left Nantes in October; tho' one of them 
was almost new and a well form'd valuable brig: but 
wishing to avoid as much as possible entering 
warmly into the resentments on either side, I only 
agreed with Mr. Morris on writing a civil joint let- 
ter to Dr. Franklin and Mr. Deane, stating some 
of the injuries to the public that had arisen from 
Mr. Williams being appointed to sell the prizes, in 
contradiction to the Secret Committee's instruc- 
tions to us; at the same time sending an extract 
from their instructions, with which we presum'd 
they were unacquainted, otherwise the orders 
wou'd not have been given to Mr. Williams and 
Captain Wickes as before mention' d; which we 
requested they wou'd countermand, that the public 
business might not be any farther interrupted. To 
this letter no answer was ever given, nor were the 
orders it complain'd of ever recalled.* 

* So far from these orders being recalled, Mr. Williams writes 
thus to Mr. Deane, August 21st, 1777. " I have received your 
favor of the 18th Instant, and observe that matters relative to 
ships of war and prizes are to continue as they were." And 
Capt. Weeks, in reply to a letter from me desiring he would 
put the prizes into the hands of Mr. Morris and myself agree- 
able to the Secret Committee's instructions, writes to me thus 
the 9th of September, 1777, "As to the prizes, they are at the 
disposal of the honorable Commissioners at Paris, whose orders 
I have received on this head, and must act in conformity." 



23 



The whole of my proceedings while at Nantes 
have been so often and so fully communicated to 
the Secret Committee, that it is unnecessary to 
repeat them here; but it may not be amiss to men- 
tion that the only cargoe on the public account 
that came under my management at Nantes, was 
315 barrels of rice, received by the Abigail, Captain 
Jenne from Charles Town; which vessel was dis- 
patched back again in three weeks; on which in- 
ward cargoe and the returns by Captain Jenne, my 
commission amounted to 1761 livres, 7 sols, which 
is the whole that I can properly say I have receiv'd 
for my public commercial agency at Nantes. 

'Tis not my business here to say anything about 
Mr. Thomas Morris; but Mr. Deane says I "was 
here loudly call'd to regulate certain affairs, which 
I prudently declin'd." I can only say it was very 
prudent in him to decline mentioning what those 
certain affairs were; because he cou'd then have 
been brought to conviction, as he will be in every 
thing he has particularly mentioned as a charge 



against me 



I shall leave these "certain affairs" then with 
Mr. Deane; being very confident that he cannot 
easily invent any, in which Congress is concern' d, 
that I declin'd to regulate when it was in my 
power. 'Tis too evident to want any proof, that it 
was my earnest endeavor to regulate the public 
business in various instances, which has brought 



24 

on me Mr. Dearie's resentment, as well as the ill 
will of others of the same character as himself. 
During my residence at Nantes, besides the before 
mention'd joint letter from Mr. Morris and myself, 
I wrote several times to the honorable the Ameri- 
can Commissioners at Paris: some of the letters on 
affairs of consequence; to none of which did I re- 
ceive any answer. Late in September being ad- 
visd by a private letter of my being appointed a 
Commissioner to the Courts of Vienna and Berlin, 
I left Nantes the 2d. of October, 1777, to go to 
Paris. On the 6th of October I saw the Commis- 
sioners, who deliver' d me my commission; and, an 
express just then setting off with despatches to 
Congress, I had only time to write the following 
short letter: 

To the President oe Congress. 

5 October, 1777. 
Sir: 

Your goodness, I trust, will excuse me for request- 
ing the favor of you to inform the honorable Congress 
of the United States of America that this moment (on 
my arrival here from Nantes, where I have been dis- 
charging the public trust reposed in me by the Secret 
Committee of Congress), were put into my hands the 
instructions and appointment of me as Commissioner 
at the Courts of Vienna and Berlin ; but not having 
had an opportunity of a conference on the subject with 
the Commissioners here, it is not in my power at pres- 
ent to enlarge on the business, more especially as I am 



25 

told that this express is to be immediately despatched. 
I understand another will be sent in ten or twelve days, 
by which opportunity I shall write fully. I have only 
further to entreat that you will assure the honorable 
Congress of my steady attachment to that respectable 
body, and to the rights of America, which I shall in- 
variably and on all occasions endeavor to support and 
maintain. 

This letter with the Commissioners' letter to 
Congress, and those written particularly by Arthur 
Lee, Esqf, that sriou'd have gone by the same 
conveyance, were stopp'd, or rather stolen, by some 
person; and tho' Congress has ordered this black 
transaction to be enquir'd into, yet so many ob- 
stacles have been thrown in the way, that the cul- 
prit has not been discover'd. 

A few days after this (viz* on the 13th day of 
October, 1777,) I had by appointment, a conference 
at Passy, with the three Commissioners of Con- 
gress at the Court of Versailles, vizt. the honorable 
Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee, 
Esqrs., at which, by my desire, the honorable 
Ralph Izard, Esq r , commissioner to the court of 
Tuscany, attended also. At this meeting I laid be- 
fore the Commissioners the several abuses and 
mismanagements of the commercial business of 
Congress, and the disorder that those affairs were 
then in; which I had found impossible to remedy 
or rectify; for they arose not so much from the 



26 

conduct of my colleague, as from Mr. Williams 
being- appointed to interfere with us in our busi- 
ness, and take out of our hands the sale of prizes, 
which had been entrusted to us by the Secret 
Committee: against which appointment Mr. Mor- 
ris and myself had written a joint letter to Dr. 
Franklin and Mr. Deane, which they did not an- 
swer. I mention'd also the prizes then remaining 
unsold, and wasting every day in value for want of 
care: all of which proceeded from the contest about 
the right of disposing of them; since in that situa- 
tion no man in his senses would purchase a thing 
to day of one, which another might take him from 
to morrow. That the loss in the prizes was not the 
only injury; for this interference of one, in anoth- 
er's department, had occasioned a spirit of confus- 
ion and disorder in every branch of the public 
business at Nantes, and the neighboring sea ports. 
At the same time I reminded those gentlemen of 
my having been at Paris, waiting under their ad- 
vice, at the very time that this appointment was 
given to. Mr. Williams, which they had conceal'd 
from me; which surpriz'd me greatly; but that I 
was still more surpriz'd at the joint letter of Mr. 
Morris and myself on the subject not having been 
answer'd. However, as I did not know of any 
urgent reason for my immediate departure for 
Vienna and Berlin, and as I was always anxious to 
do everything in my power for the interest or ad- 



27 

vantage of my country, I was willing to return to 
Nantes, and endeavor to reform and regulate for 
the future the Commercial Business of Congress, 
before I went to Germany; provided they wou'd 
immediately recall the orders given to Mr. Will- 
iams, which had been complained of; and give me 
all the assistance which their influence as Commis- 
sioners enabled them to do; not only to correct my 
colleague, but to obtain a settlement of the public 
accounts from those persons, who had been before 
entrusted with the public property; and that I was 
very certain, if they wou'd do this, the public 
business might be put in a regular and orderly 
train; when it wou'd be very easy to obtain credit 
for Congress to a very considerable amount. 

To this Dr. Franklin principally reply' d. He 
said, that for his part he wou'd not interfere in any 
manner with respect to my colleague Mr. Morris, 
altho' he was fully sensible of his misconduct, for 
they had already written to Congress about it ; for 
which he had got a rap over the knuckles from Mr. 
Morris's Brother, Robert Morris, Esq' , Chairman 
of the Secret Committee, who had used very disre- 
spectful language relative to him, in a letter he 
had written to Mr. Deane ; but the orders given to 
Mr. Williams about the prizes shou'd be immedi- 
ately recal'd ; and that an answer had been written 
to the joint letter from Mr. Morris and myself, but 
something had intervend which had prevented its 



28 

being sent. This was all the excuse he made for 
not answering the joint letter ; nor did he make 
any excuse for not answering my own letters. Mr. 
Deane propos'd the absolute suspension of Mr. 
* Morris, which the other two Commissioners did 
not think they had any right, or authority to do. 
After this Conference, I waited about a fortnight 
(which time was employ'd in getting Mrs. Lee and 
my family from England) expecting to receive from 
Dr. Franklin and Mr. Deane the revocation of the 
orders before given to Mr. Williams ; but not re- 
ceiving it, and understanding by report, that the 
subject of the conference had given great offence 
to those Gentlemen, I gave over all thoughts of 
taking any further active part in the Commercial 
business, and apply'd my attention to that of a 
Commissioner at the Courts of Vienna and Berlin. 
I therefore apply'd in person to Dr. Franklin for 
a Copy of the Treaty, that had been propos'd by 
Congress to the Court of Versailles, conformable to 
the Instructions I had receiv'd with my Commis- 
sion. This he promis'd I shou'd have in a few 
days ; but, waiting a considerable time and not re- 
ceiving it, I thought proper to write the following 
letter, which was deliver'd to Dr. Franklin, at 
Passy : 



29 

Honorable Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane and 
Arthur Lee, Esq* s , Commissioners from the United 
States of America to the Court of Versailles. 

Chaillot, io November, 1777. 
Gentlemen : 

In consequence of the Instructions to me from the / 
Honorable Congress of the United States of America, I 
am to request that you will be pleas' d to furnish me 
with a Copy of the Treaty originally propos'd by Con- 
gress to be enter' d into with France; together with the 
subsequent alterations which have been propos'd on 
either side. As my instructions came inclos'd to you 
for perusal and delivery, you cannot be strangers to 
their Contents; therefore shall be particularly oblig'd 
by your giving me any information that you think will 
tend to forward the wishes of Congress, in appointing 
me their Commissioner to the Courts of Vienna and 
Berlin; especially, that you wou'd advise which of those 
Courts it wou'd be most proper for me to visit first. 
You having told me that Congress has omitted to di- 
rect what fund is to supply my expences and appoint- 
ment, I have only to request on that head, that you will 
be so good as to take notice of that omission in your 
next despatches. I am, &c. 

To this letter no written answer was ever 
given: but some days afterwards meeting Dr. 
Franklin in Company, he told me that I shou'd 
have a copy of the Treaty as soon as it cou'd be got 
ready; however, this Copy I did not receive until 
the 1 2th of January, 1778. In the meantime I was 
employ 'd in negotiating the public business by 



30 

Correspondence with the Prussian Minister at Ber- 
lin, the substance of which has been communi- 
cated to Congress in Letters, which have been 
receiv'd. It is to be observ'd, that the advice of 
General Burgoyne's Captivity, with that of his 
Army, did not arrive at Paris till the 4th of De- 
cember, 1777 ; so that the preceding letter, and the 
Conference before mention'd with all the Commis- 
sioners in October, &c, is a full answer to Mr. 
Deane's charge against me of remaining inactive 
in Paris during the months of October and Novem- 
ber. If there was anything criminal in my staying 
in Paris for those two months, 'tis evident that the 
Commissioners are culpable, and not me. 

I hope to be excused for observing here, that in 
August and September we had advice of General 
Burgoyne's taking of Ticonderoga, and being at 
Fort Edward ; which in the minds of most people 
look'd ominous against America, and certainly in- 
fluenc'd the conduct of the French Ministry in 
putting Mr. Hodge, a Gentleman from Philadel- 
phia, into the Bastile ; tho', perhaps, on enquiry 
into this business, the principal blame will be 
found to ly on Mr. Deane. Notwithstanding these 
unfavorable appearances, I left Nantes the begin- 
ning of October, in a few days after receiving 
advice of my appointment as a Commissioner, and 
was as active, during the months of October and 
November, as I was permitted to be, by the Com- 



3i 



missioners at Paris ; altho' during that period, we 
had from time to time accounts of General Howe's 
landing at the head of Chesapeak-Bay, the battle 
of Brandywine, and his getting possession of Phil- 
adelphia : all which when fairly consider' d, proves 
in the clearest light, the injustice and malignity of 
the insinuation, that my conduct in the service of 
my Country, was directed by Events and not by 
principle. 

Having received a copy of the Treaty the 12th of 
January, 1778, I requested a conference with the 
Commissioners at the Court of Versailles, to settle 
with them the articles that might be proper for me 
to propose to the Courts of Vienna and Berlin; this 
Conference I obtain'd on the 16th of January^ and 
as the treaties with France were then settled, and 
only waited for copying to be sign'd, I thought it 
adviseable not to leave Paris before that ceremony 
was over; of which I have repeatedly advis'd Con- 
gress. It must be observ'd that during the whole 
time of my being in Paris, no letters, nor anything 
relative to the commercial business of Congress, 
was communicated to me by Mr. Deane, (tho' he 
continually carry'd on a considerable correspond- 
ence on that subject) until the first of February, 
1778, while I was waiting only for the signing of 
the Treaties with France, in order to depart*for 
Germany, which Mr. Deane knew perfectly well; 
but on his receiving a letter from Nantes, from 



32 

Mr. John Ross, advising him of the dangerous 
state of Mr. Thomas Morris, he immediately sent 
it to Mr. Arthur Lee, desiring him to communicate 
it to me; and on the 3d of February, receiving a 
letter of advice of Mr. Morris's Death, he sent it to 
Dr. Franklin, desiring him to communicate it to 
me also; which was done. As Mr. Deane was well 
inform' d that I had for some time given over all 
thoughts of being further concern'd with the com- 
mercial business, and that this resolution had taken 
place for the reasons before mention' d, and because 
he had assum'd almost entirely to himself the 
direction of that department (which I can prove by 
letters to him and from him) I was surpriz'd at 
this repeated application, and must confess, that 
my own Judgment directed me not to meddle with 
the business in any manner. For knowing the 
characters that were then acting in the direction 
and management of the Commercial business of 
Congress, I foresaw the Consequences that did hap- 
pen, and that it wou'd be impossible for me in the 
then situation of persons and things, to render the 
public any very essential services. 

However, submitting my own opinion to the 
judgment of others, I undertook to postpone my 
journey to Germany, and go to Nantes in order to 
try to put the Commercial business under some 
tolerable arrangement before I left France. The 
whole of my proceedings on this occasion have 



33 

been communicated to the Secret Committee, 
which they, or at least their Chairman, have been 
in possession of many months ; and also of the 
Copies of the letters, that pass'd between me and 
Mr. John Ross and others on the occasion: there- 
fore it is unnecessary to repeat them here, as full 
information may be had by referring to those let- 
ters now in possession of the Secret Committee; 
but I think it will appear evidently, from Mr. 
Deane's before-mention'd publication, that this 
latent design, in having communicated to me the 
death of Mr. Morris, was to treasure up a charge 
of negligence against me, if I did not undertake 
the business, and if I did, knowing from Mr. 
Ross's first letter of advice that he expected to be 
put into possession of all the papers of Mr. Morris, 
and intended to take upon himself the manage- 
ment of the public concerns, which I cou'd not 
agree to; it was more than probable, that a differ- 
ence wou'd arise between me and Mr. Ross, who 
being patroniz'd by Robert Morris, EsqT , wou'd 
find support, and aid Mr. Deane in the Schemes, 
'tis now prov'd he had long plan'd and been exe- 
cuting to injure me. 

I come now to the last, and most positive charge 
which Mr. Deane makes against me in his Address 
to the Public; viz 1 . — that before I departed from 
Paris, I had appointed sundry Commercial Agents 
at the several ports, and in one Instance remov'd 



34 

the person, (viz* Mr. Williams before mention'd) 
who had faithfully done the public business for 2 
per cent., in favor of another, who is to receive 5 
per cent., of which, as well as the like Commission 
at other places, I receive a share. 

To this bold and untrue assertion, the following 
facts will fully answer. It is proper to observe 
here that the promise which Dr. Franklin and Mr. 
Deane gave early in October, 1777, as before men- 
tion'd, of recalling the orders to Mr. Williams 
which Mr. Morris and myself had complain'd of, 
was not comply'd with; at least it was not the 16th 
of December, 1777, because Mr. Williams expressly 
says so, in a letter from him of that date, address'd 
to the Hon^ le American Commissioners at Paris; 
and Dr. Franklin, so far from recalling those ord- 
ers, as he had promis'd, writes thus to Mr. Wil- 
liams: 

Passy, 22 December, 1777. 
Dear Nephew : 

You need, however, to be under no concern as to 
your orders being only from Mr. Deane. As you have 
always acted uprightly and ably for the public service, 
you wou'd be justifyd if you had no orders at all. But 
as he generally consulted with me, and had my appro- 
bation in the orders he gave, and I know they were for 
the best and aim'd the public good, I hereby certify 
you that I approve and join in those you receiv'd from 
him, and desire you to proceed in the execution of the 
same. I am ever your affectionate uncle 

(Sign'd) B. Franklin. 



35 

After the business about the late Mr. Morris's 

papers had been settled, by leaving them all seal'd 

up in the possession of Dr. Franklin, I wrote the 

following letter, which was deliver'd to Dr. Frank- 

lin at Passy: 

Chaiixot, 6 March, 177S. 
Gentlemen : 

In conformity to the general instructions of the 
Secret Committee that you shou'd be consulted and 
ad vis' d with in all important cases relative to their 
Commercial affairs, and Mr. Thomas Morris, joint 
Commercial Agent with me, being now dead, and as I 
am just on the point of setting out for Germany; I 
think it expedient to advise you, that in order to pre- 
vent the business of the Secret Committee from getting 
into improper hands, I intend to appoint persons in 
the different ports of France to take care of any remit- 
tances, vessels, or cargoes that may arrive on account 
of the Secret Committee, until their farther pleasure 
is known. For this purpose I think of appointing 
MessT s Iyloyd and Jonathan Williams for the port of 
Nantes, and the other ports of Brittany; Messrs. S. and 
J. H. Delap at Bordeaux; Mr. Andrew Limozin at 
Havre, the two last Houses being strongly recom- 
mended by the Committee ; and Mr. John Bondfield 
for the ports of Rochelle, Rochefort, and Bayonne. 
These three ports I put under the same direction, be- 
cause it is not probable that many vessels will arrive 
at them, and the accidental ones that do arrive there, 
will not be more than Mr. Bondfield can easily manage. 
I shall be happy to find that this arrangement meets 



36 

your approbation: but if it does not, be pleas'd to point 
out an}' alteration you wish to have made ; and due 
attention shall be paid to it. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

Signed, W. LEK. 

Hon. Benjamin Frankin, Silas Deane and Arthur Lee, 
Esq 1 ? Commissioners from the United States of Amer- 
ica in France. 

I thought it a lucky circumstance for the public, 
that such a Gentleman as Mr. Lloyd was in France, 
to undertake the Committee's business ; a mer- 
chant of respectable character, who had early in 
the present war quitted England with his family, 
to settle at Nantes, and carry on a Commerce to 
his own Country, South Carolina, in which State 
he holds considerable property. Consequently I 
propos'd to him to undertake the business, which 
he positively declin'd; unless it cou'd be done with 
the full approbation and countenance of the Amer- 
ican Commissioners at Paris ; in which case he 
wou'd readily undertake it; and he suppos'd the 
most likely way to obtain that approbation and 
countenance wou'd be to join Mr. Jonathan Wil- 
liams in the appointment with him; who being an 
active young man, might be of considerable assist- 
ance to him: as his uncle, Dr. Franklin, and Mr. 
Deane, had already employ'd him in laying out a 
great deal of the public money, he imagin'd their 
favor and protection wou'd be continued to him; 



37 
and therefore without his being join'd in the ap- 
pointment, it was probable the same distractions 
and divisions wou'd be continued in the public 
business, which had already prevail'd to the very 
great detriment of America; and in that case he 
cou d not agree to be in any manner concern'd I 
rnention'd therefore to Mr. Williams, that I had a 
design of appointing him in conjunction with Mr. 
Ivloyd Commercial Agent at Nantes; to which he 
reply'd that he shou'd be intirely directed by the 
advice of Doctor Franklin. Things were thus sit- 
uated when I wrote the foregoing letter to the Com- 
missioners : to which Dr. Franklin deliver'd me 
his answer himself at Chaillot the 10th of March 
1778, in the afternoon, in a letter dated thus: 

Passy, 6 March, 1778. 

n ^° Ur v, ^Tf {t \° n SbOUt a PP° intin & agents in the 
ports shall be laid before the Commissioners when they 

Zl T V he ^ antime J can only sa ^ that as to ™r 

Nephew Mr. Williams, tho' I have, from long knowl- 
edge and experience of him, a high opinion of his abil- 
ities, activity and integrity, I will have no hand in his 
appointment, or in approving of it ; not being desirous 
ot his being any way concern'd in that business. And 
the other gentlemen I know so little of, that I can have 
no objection to them, but I do not see that I have any- 
thing to do with their appointment.* 

* Franklin complained that Lee'^it^nTthTc^nTcTf 
vessels were continually writing to hi m on matters of wlkh he 



38 

It is to be observed that Passy is about half a 
mile distant from Chaillot. I must confess that I 
never cou'd see the propriety of this refusal of Dr. 
Franklin to agree to the appointment of his nephew, 
Mr. Williams, and his apparent delicacy on the 
subject; as I knew he had employ'd, and was then 
employing him in the commercial business of the 
public to the amount of aljove a Million; as will 
appear by Mr. Williams' accounts, and Dr. Frank- 
lin's letter to him before mentioned, of the 22d of 

was ignorant. "I see clearly that many of the captains are 
exorbitant in their demands, and in some cases I think those 
demands are too easily complied with by the agents, perhaps 
because the commissions are in proportion to the expense. . . . 
The commissions demanded by the agents seem to me in some 
cases very high. For instance, Mr. Schweighauser, in a late 
account, charges five per cent, on the simple delivery of the 
tobacco to the officer of the farmers-general in the port, and by 
that means makes the commission on the delivery of the two 
last cargoes amount to about six hundred and thirty pounds 
sterling. As there was no sale in the case, he has, in order to 
calculate the commission, valued the tobacco at ninety livres 
the hundred weight; whereas it was by our contract with the 
farmers, to be delivered at about forty livres. I got a friend, 
who was going upon change, to inquire among the merchants 
what was the custom in such cases of delivery. ... In conse- 
quence, I refused to pay the commission of five per cent, on 
this article; and I know not why it was, as was said, agreed 
with him at the time of his appointment, that he should have 
five per cent, on his transactions, if the custom is only two 
per cent., as by my information." Franklin to the Committee 
of Foreign Affairs, 26 May, 1779. The charge was abated to 
two per cent. 



39 

December, 1777; and had by one single order given 
him authority to draw on the public Banker for 
half a million of money. 

Mr. Deane gave me his answer as follows: 

Passy, 11 March, 1778. 
Sir : 

I can have no objection to the Persons you propose 

appointing to act under you in the Commercial Agency, 

nor can I take any active part in that affair. 

Thus disappointed in the plan of having Messrs. 
Lloyd and Williams appointed Commercial Agents 
at Nantes, with the approbation and countenance 
of the American Commissioners, I had no other 
resource than to refer to the recommendation of 
the Secret Committee, and that was, to Mr. J. D. 
Schweighauser, who (among all the Cabals at 
Nantes, and the number of wicked insinuations 
and private slander of almost every Person in any 
manner concern'd there with American affairs) has 
maintain'd a clear and unsullied reputation, and 
was highly esteem' d by all the Americans who 
were, or had been at Nantes. 

I shall proceed then, to give Copies of my Let- 
ters of appointment to the several Agents, assert- 
ing here what I have already made oath to, that I 
did not in any manner whatever, demand of either 
of the said Agents to receive a part or share of the 
Commissions that they might get, in consequence 
of my appointment, and that I have not received, 



40 

nor do I expect ever to receive, directly or indi- 
rectly, any Commission, gratuity, or reward what- 
soever from those Agents on account of that ap- 
pointment. And I will further assert, that what 
Mr. Deane charges (untruely) to me as a crime, 
was actually done by Mr. Williams, Dr. Franklin's 
nephew, whom he speaks of in the highest terms 
of commendation. I can prove by Mr. Williams's 
own letter that he agreed with Mr. Thomas Morris 
to do the public business and charge 5 per cent., 
which they were to share between them, and Mr. 
Williams's accounts since render'd to the American 
Commissioners at Paris, will shew that he has 
actually charg'd and received 5 per cent. Commis- 
sion on that business. 

TO MR. ANDREW UMOZIN, AT HAVRE DE GRACE. 

Paris, 21 March, 1778. 
Dear Sir : 

I duly receiv'd your esteem' d favor of the 13th in- 
stant, and note the contents. By the death of Mr. 
Thomas Morris, the Commercial Agency for the Secret 
Committee of Congress has fallen on me alone ; and I 
am happy in conformity to their recommendation, in 
appointing and authorizing you, as I do fully by this 
letter, to take up and dispose of such vessels and Car- 
goes as may be lucky enough to arrive at your port, 
in which the said Secret Committee may be interested, 
whether address' d to me solely or to Mr. Thomas Mor- 
ris and myself as joint Commercial Agents; always 
taking care to advise the Committee of your proceed- 



4i 

ings, and giving the American Commissioners at Paris 
notice when any vessels arrive at your port in which 
the Committee are interested. I sincerely wish that 
you may have frequent occasions of showing your con- 
tinued attachment to the interest of America in general 
and to that of the Secret Committee in particular. I 
am, &c. 

(Signed) W. I,ee. 

TO MR. JOHN DANIEX SCHWEIGHAUSER, NANTES. 

sir . Paris, 21 March, 1778. 

I was duly honor' d with your esteemed favor of the 
11 th current and note the contents. 

As the superintendence of the Commercial Concerns 
of the Secret Committee of Congress has devolv'd on 
me solely by the death of the late Mr. Thomas Morris, 
I am happy in pursuing their recommendation by ap- 
pointing you to take up, and dispose of any vessels or 
Cargoes that may arrive in the port of Nantes or any 
other port in Brittany, on account of said Committee ; 
requesting you always to govern yourself in this 
Agency conformable to such Instructions, or advice as 
you may receive with such vessels or Cargoes ; whether 
they are address' d to me solely, or to Mr. Morris and 
myself as joint Commercial Agents ; and that you may 
be fully inform 'd on that head, you are hereby author- 
ized to open any letters that may come to your hands, 
directed to me only as Commercial Agent, or to Mr! 
Morris and myself as joint Agents for America. In 
order to prevent as much as possible any interference 
with you, or any interruption in this business, I enclose 



42 

you a certificate, and a letter from the Chairman of the 
Committee, dated February the 3? 1777, to shew my 
authority, if any one shou'd entertain a doubt about it. 

You will please to give the Committee regular advice 
of your proceedings, and also give the American Com- 
missioners at Paris advice whenever any property ar- 
rives in which the Committee is interested. Shou'd 
any cargoes arrive in the above mention' d ports ad- 
dress' d to me, being private property, you will please 
to dispose of the same in the best manner you can for 
the interest of the concern' d, and follow their directions 
in making returns for the same. Be so good as to for- 
ward any letters that may come to your hands, directed 
for me, to Mr. Grand, Banquier in Paris. 

I have no doubt of your conduct in this agency giv- 
ing entire satisfaction to all parties concern' d, and 
wishing you success therein, 

I have the honor, &c, 

(Signed) W. LER. 

MR. JOHN BONDFIEU5, BORDEAUX. 

Paris, 21 March, 1778. 
Sir : 

As the Commercial Agency for the Secret Committee 
of Congress has devolved solely on me by the Death of 
Mr. \T S . Morris, and having a good opinion of your 
abilities, industry and integrity, I am induced to re- 
quest you will take upon yourself the management of 
any vessels, and the disposal of such Cargoes, as may 
arrive in the Ports of Bordeaux, Bayonne, Rochelle 
and Rochfort, belonging to said Committee, in which 
they are interested or concern'd ; hereby authorizing 



43 

and impowering you to act in all such Cases as fully 
as I cou'd do, if personally present; always wishing 
you to attend closely to such Instructions or advice as 
you may receive with said vessels or Cargoes, whether 
address' d to me solely or to Mr. Morris and myself 
jointly. And that you may be fully inform'd, you are 
farther authoriz'd to open any letters that come to your 
hands directed to me solely as Commercial Agent, or 
to Mr. Morris and myself as joint Agents. The House 
of Mess" S. & J. H. Delap formerly did business for 
the Secret Committee, but the enclos'd letter (which 
you will please to deliver) will shew the reason of the 
alteration, and to facilitate your operations for the 
benefit of the concern'd, I have thought it advisable to 
inclose you a certificate ; also a letter from the Chair- 
man of the Secret Committee, Robert Morris, EsqF, 
which will fully shew my authority, and consequently 
that under which you are to act. I wish you to give 
the Committee the earliest advice of this arrangement, 
and on all future occasions that you wou'd advise them 
of your proceedings. It will be proper to inform the 
American Commissioners at Paris, when any property 
arrives in which the Secret Committee is interested. 
I have not the least doubt of your giving entire satis- 
faction in whatever is committed to your care, and 
wishing you both ease and success in the management. 
I am, &c, 

(Sign'd) W. Lee. 

The Secret Committee were informed by letter 
from me dated March 23d, 1778 (which they have 



44 

receiv'd) of these arrangements being made, only 
until they shou'd give further orders therein; also 
of the reason why the House of Messrs. S. & J. H. 
Delap was omitted at Bordeaux; tho' I had acted 
upon my own judgment alone, there was another 
much more forcible reason with me for such omis- 
sion; which being mention' d to Dr. Franklin, on 
my first coming to France, and he to Mr. Deane, 
the latter, I understood, had prevail' d on the for- 
mer, to think that my Information was not well 
founded ; (the private connections between Mr. 
Deane and that house were too publickly known 
to require mentioning by me;) therefore I submit- 
ted; and that house seem'd to grow afterwards into 
higher favor with those Gentlemen, than it had 
been before. I had never the most distant private 
connection or correspondence with this house, nor 
the honor of being acquainted with any one of the 
partners: therefore my conduct cou'd not possibly 
arise from personal motives. However, to avoid 
all misconception 'tis proper to add a Copy of my 
letter to that House, which was enclos'd to Mr. 
Bondfield. 

MESSRS. S. & J. H. DEI.AP, BORDEAUX. 

Gentlemen : 

I wrote you from Nantes the 14.^ ult? advising you 
that by the Death of Mr. Thomas Morris the Commer- 
cial Agency for the Secret Committee of Congress had 
fallen on me alone, and desiring you wou'd favor me 



45 

with your account current against said Committee, 
with account sales of such goods as you had receiv'd 
on their account : To this letter you have not been 
pleas' d to favor me with any answer, therefore con- 
clude you do not chuse to act any farther for said Com- 
mittee; consequently by virtue of the powers vested in 
me by said Committee, I have authorized Mr. John 
Bondfield, who will deliver this, to take up, and dis- 
pose of such Cargoes or Vessels as may arrive at Bor- 
deaux on account of said Committee, or that may be 
address'd to me solely, or to Mr. Morris and myself as 
joint Commercial agents. This I think it proper to 
give you due notice of, not doubting that you will act 

in conformity. 

I am, &c, 

(Sign'd) W. LEE. 

I have now given a plain and unvarnish'd ac- 
count of all my conduct in the Public Service, rel- 
ative to their Commercial Affairs, the Truth of 
which I am ready to verify on oath; besides being 
possess' d of the original writings and testimonials, 
that prove the most material parts: which shall at 
all times be open to the perusal of proper persons; 
yet still I think it expedient to mention that Con- 
gress did on the 9th of February, 1778, before the 
date of the above mention' d appointments, resolve, 
that the Committee of Commerce shou'd write to 
the Commissioners at the Court of France, desiring 
them to appoint commercial agents; the Commer- 
cial Committee did write to the Commissioners 



4 6 

accordingly on the same day, which letter was re- 
ceived in France, some time in May or June; since 
which time I have not had any concern with that 
department; if there had been any sufficient ground 
for altering the appointments I had made, there 
can be no doubt but that they wou'd have done it 
long since. In September, 1778, I heard that the 
same dark agents, who had long been employ' d in 
traducing every person that had been employ' d in 
the affairs of America, unless he was of their 
society, commenc'd an attack on the character of 
Mr. Schweighauser, and his son-in-law, Mr. Do- 
bree, which began by dropping anonymous and 
undirected letters on the tables of the Commission- 
ers, full of charges and insinuations against these 
Gentlemen; at length one of these Letter droppers, 
being discovered, was called upon for the Author, 
which he refused to give up; however the charges 
I have understood, have been enquired into, and I 
suppose the issue of that enquiry has been commu- 
nicated to Congress by the Commissioners; but I 
must beg leave to add here extracts of a letter to 
me from John Lloyd, Esq!", and of a certificate 
sent to the American Commissioners at Paris on 
this subject by Daniel Blake and John Lloyd, 
Esq", of South Carolina; where they both have 
considerable Estates, and are well known to be 
gentlemen of the highest Integrity, honor and 
good sense. 



47 

Nantes, 19 September, 1778. 
The unjust, base and villainous attack made upon 
Mr. Dobree and Mr. Sehweighauser must have origi- 
nated in hearts capable of the blackest crimes ; and 
those who countenance such assassin-like proceedings, 
are not in my opinion less culpable. 

(Signed) John Lloyd. 

Nantes, 19 September, 1778. 
Being informed that some malicious person or per- 
sons, hath been, and are still endeavoring, by the most 
infamous means, to deprive Mr. J. D. Sehweighauser 
of his good name, and being apprehensive that the in- 
tention is to prejudice him in the estimation of the 
Honorable Commissioners ; we think it an act of jus- 
tice due to injur'd merit to acquaint you, that we have 
employ'd, and are now employing that Gentleman to 
' transact for our friends and ourselves to a very large 
amount. The satisfaction that they and we have re- 
ceived from his assiduity, honor and integrity, will 
induce us to pursue every means in our power,' after 
our arrival in America, to serve him ; being confident 
that as a merchant he most justly deserves public and 
private confidence. He has had, and continues to 
transact, a very considerable part of the business to 
and from America; and we have always heard the 
Americans, who have had any connection with him, 
speak of him in the most respectful terms. 

(Signd) Dan^ Blake, 

John I^loyd. 
These certificates, given six months after my 
appointment of Mr. Sehweighauser as one of the 









4 8 

Commercial agents, by gentlemen who were on 
the spot to see and judge for themselves, are surely 
a full vindication of my choice, had I not been 
authorized to make it by the Committee's recom- 
mendation, which was strengthened by my own 
observation and Judgment. 

Nowadays it seems to be the mode to circulate 
dark and wicked insinuations, by whispering in 
corners, and by anouimous Letters, and when the 
plot is sufficiently ripe, the insinuations are con- 
verted into stubborn and undeniable facts, and the 
anonymous Letters into proof as clear as that of 
holy writ : But whether these charges and insinu- 
ations against Mr. Schweighauser or his son-in-law, 
be true or false, let the accus'd answer for them- 
selves : but I will observe that the accusations, and 
even the subject of them, are of a date long after 
my appointment of Mr. Schweighauser, and long 
after the Commercial Agency was taken out of my 
hands by Congress. Indeed I have been informed 
that the direct attempts to blacken the character of 
Mr. Schweighauser, who was the only agent 
appointed by me at Nantes, were soon given up, 
as it was found to be rather too arduous an under- 
taking ; but the indirect attempts were continued, 
thro' the medium of his relations with his son-in- 
law. These relations being charged by hearsay, 
with enmity to America, it was infer' d that Mr. 
Dobree was guilty, and as surely his father-in-law, 



49 

Mr. Schweighauser, must be guilty also. 'Tis 
very certain that there is something very curious 
in this mode of accusation ; but I wonder these 
accusers do not recollect the case of Dr. Franklin 
(whom they and Mr. Deane extol to the skies, and 
who is absolutely trusted by Congress), and his 
only son, Governor Franklin, whose former and 
present conduct is too notorious in America and 
even in Europe to need mentioning here. 

It is now made evident that every positive charge 
which Mr. Deane has brought against me, is not 
only unfounded, but directly the reverse of truth ; 
and it is somewhat curious that the onlv thing 
which he mentions as being doubtful, happens to be 
a truth: this is, that I might be an alderman of 
London at the time he was writing his letter. The 
fact is, I was then an Alderman of London, and, 
as far as I know, am one at this moment. 

As soon as I got my family from England, I 
wrote to one of my Common Council, saying that 
I was ready to resign my Gown, as soon as my 
constituents were ready to receive it. The answer 
was, that the majority did not wish me to resign 
it. I wrote several times to the same purpose, and 
receiv'd the same answers: when at length I deter- 
mined to wait no longer, and on the 13th of No- 
vember I sent my resignation in form, but this not 
getting to hand until the 224 or 23^ occasiond the 
proceedings at the Wardmote, the 21st December 



5o 

(last St. Thomas's day) which having been pub- 
lish'd in almost all the London papers, it is un- 
necessary for me to repeat here. Although my 
constituents have been actually in possession of my 
resignation ever since December last, they have 
not yet thought proper to make use of it, because 
they say, they wish to find a successor to fill my 
place of sound old whig principles; for which, it is 
certain, they honor'd me with their Choice. One of 
the Common Council in last month (viz^ Feb. 
1779), wrote to me thus: "It is certainly the wish 
of my brethren and self that the resignation shou'd 
not be made until we request it, i. e., supposing 
you are no ways injur'd by this." The injury 
must be very great indeed, that will induce me to 
be guilty of ingratitude to men, who have not only 
honor'd me by their choice, on the noblest princi- 
ples of liberty, but have even shown themselves 
warmly attach' d to the Cause of America. I speak 
of a great majority of my Constituents; for which 
reason I think it a duty incumbent on me to let 
them proceed in their own business as they judge 
right; and in this I am confident, that every honor- 
able and impartial man will accord with me. 
I have the honor to be, 

with the greatest respect,. 

your Excellency's most obedient 
and very humble serv* 

W. Lee. 

Frankfort on the Mayn in Germany, March 8th, 1779. 



5i 

HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT JAY AT CONGRESS. 

Paris, March 16th, 1779. 

I have just had communicated to me the copies 
of two letters from Mr. Silas Deane, address' d to 
Mr. President Laurens, dated Philadelphia, Octo- 
ber 12^ 1778, and a separate paper relative to the 
1 1 1 . 11 and I2 1 . 11 articles in the Treaty of Commerce, 
between his most Christian Majesty and the United 
States of America; in which letter, so far as respects 
me personally, he has asserted nearly the same 
groundless charges as in his letter to the public, 
which have been already so fully reply' d to, and 
prov'd to be utterly repugnant to truth. Had Mr. 
Deane made these very extraordinary assertions 
only once, he might have had some shadow of ex- 
cuse, tho' it is a very bad one, by pleading a weak 
memory; but a deliberate repetition of them, after 
an interval of time amply sufficient for recollection, 
shews a heart and designs of such a complection, 
that all good men shou'd avoid and guard against. 
Mr. Deane concludes with the following assertions 
by way of summary of all he had before advanced: 

i s > That I never had a Commission to the Com- 
mercial Agency. What Mr. Deane may stile a 
commission, I do not know; but he knew by a letter 
to himself from Mr. John Ross in July, 1777, of 
which he knows I have a copy, that I had as suffic- 
ient authority to act in the Commercial Agency as 
Mr. Thomas Morris, and that I did act in that de- 



52 

partment accordingly. But if Mr. Deane knew I 
was not Commercial Agent, how can he palliate so 
bold and daring an imposition on his most Chris- 
tian Majesty and his Ministers, as to represent me 
in that character to them; which he did do in the 
letter sign'd by him to his Excellency Count de 
Vergennes, in February, 1778, representing that 
the late Mr. Thomas Morris's papers might be put 
in my possession, as then being the sole Commer- 
cial Agent of Congress. But indeed we ought not 
to be surpriz'd at any imposition whatever on the 
part of Mr. Deane, when he impos'd himself on the 
King of France, his ministers, and the whole world 
as a Commissioner of Congress on the 20^ of March, 
1778, when he confesses that on the 4*. h of that 
month he received a resolution of Congress recall- 
ing him to America. I also refer for his conviction 
to the Letters and proceedings of the Secret Com- 
mittee. 

2dly. Mr. Deane says: "Mr. Lee's caution was 
such, that he never even answer' d my letters to 
him in February or March, informing him that 
Mr. Robert Morris had written to me, that he was 
appointed ; nor did I hear anything from him of 
his intentions until he arriv'd at Paris the summer 
following, where also he acted with the greatest 
caution, while he waited the return of his brother 
from Berlin." One cannot here omit observing 
the studied latitude of expression. Mr. Deane 



53 

talks of his letter in February or March, and that 
I came to Paris in the summer following. Will 
Mr. Deane say how many letters he wrote? I 
never saw or heard of but one. Will he please to 
say whether that one letter was dated the I st or 
February or the 31st of March? for the difference 
of two whole months makes a very material altera- 
tion in the consequence he means to draw from the 
assertion. I will answer, that his only letter is 
dated the 30^ of March, tho' he acknowledges his 
having receiv'd a notification from Mr. Robert 
Morris in February of my appointment ; and at 
the same time was desir'd to give me information 
immediately of it. It has been also prov'd by Mr. 
Deane' s letter to Mr. Williams on the same day, 
viz* March 30 t . h , that he was plotting a contention 
and rivalship in this Department long before it was 
possible for him to know my determination on the 
subject. Again, will Mr. Deane specify what time 
in the summer \ arriv'd at Paris? because here it 
is left to be understood, either the first day of June 
or the last day of August ; which makes a still 
greater difference than the former expression. I 
I will assert, what I can prove, that I arriv'd in 
Paris the n 1 . 11 of June ; and that besides receiving 
a letter from me himself in the month of May, he 
was personally told by my Brother, Arthur Lee, by 
my desire, in the beginning of May, that I wou'd 
come over as soon as possible to execute my ap- 



54 

pointment ; and so far from waiting in Paris for 
my Brother's return from Berlin, it has been prov'd 
already, that I waited by the express advice of Dr. 
Franklin and Mr. Deane until the 31st. of July, 
1777, as their letter to me of that date will shew ; 
which was nine days after my Brother's return 
from Berlin to Paris. 

The manner in which Mr. Deane sent me the 
letter informing me of my appointment, join'd 
with what is now manifest, a form'd design in him 
and Dr. Franklin to make Mr. Williams (nephew 
of the latter, and who now appears connected with 
the former in private mercantile business) commer- 
cial agent in opposition to the Secret Committee's 
appointment, renders it evident that he expected 
either the interception of that letter, or of my an- 
swer, wou'd have subjected me to imprisonment 
and secur'd their plan. It is this disappointment 
that makes Mr. Deane so outragious against me, 
for not having committed so great an act of Im- 
prudence, situated as I was, as to be writing to him 
by the post upon such a subject. That this scheme 
of Mr. Deane might be more effectual, notice of 
my appointment was circulated upon the Royal Ex- 
change in London, before I receiv'd Mr. Deane' s 
letter; and not long after, it was publish' d in the 
newspapers in authentic letters written from Paris. 1 
Now, as Mr. Deane acknowledges that he receiv'd 
the letter announcing my appointment, it must 



55 

have by him that others were enabled to write and 
publish it to all the world; while my Life, Liberty, 
and p7-operty, were at stake. It is hardly in charity 
to believe, that these were not the intended victims 
of Mr. Deane's conduct. 

3ly. He charges it as a crimes, that I was cir- 
cumspect in my conduct, on my first coming to 
France, for fear of prejudicing my interest in 
London. 

Will any man in the world call circumspection 
a crime, where ostentation wou'd have been not 
only useless, but highly ridiculous, and when my 
family, and nearly the whole of my property in 
Europe, were in the power of the enemy? 

I have in the former part of this narrative shewn, 
that my urgent desire of serving my country, and 
its glorious cause, had indue' d me to quit England 
so hastily, as to leave behind me Mrs. Lee not re- 
cover'd from her lying in (which event was daily 
expected when Mr. Deane's letter was receiv'd) my 
children, House, Furniture, and property to the 
amount of many thousand pounds sterling; the 
greater part of which has been with held from me, 
in consequence of my coming away. It is some 
what curious to observe that almost in the same 
breath, Mr. Deane brings a heavy charge against 
Mr. Arthur Lee for being ostentatious in his pro- 
ceedings, and as heavy a one against me for con- 
ducting mine with caution: but this is amonsf the 



56 

least of his inconsistencies and contradictions of 
himself. 

4thly. Mr. Deane says: "So far was he (mean- 
ing me) from ever executing or publickly attempt- 
ing to execute that Agency until after the news of 
General Burgoyne's defeat had arriv'd in France, 
that he did nothing that ever I heard of, which 
cou'd have prevented his returning to the exercise 
of his Aldermanship of London." 

If anything could astonish me that comes from 
Mr. Deane, surely here is abundant matter for as- 
tonishment. He had just before, from under his 
own hand, on the very same paper, acknowledg'd 
my having attempted to exercise that appointment, 
in the joint letter from Mr. Thomas Morris, and 
myself as Commercial agents, to himself and Dr. 
Franklin in August, 1777, which he calls severe; 
but which I aver, is a very civil one, and that it 
does not contain a single harsh or offensive expres- 
sion. He acknowledges also the conference I had 
with all the Commissioners in France, in October, 
on the subject of the Commercial business, when 
Mr. Izard was present. He knew also that I had 
receiv'd a cargoe publickly at Nantes, belonging to 
Congress, by the Abigail, Cap* Jenne; which vessel 
was loaded again by me, and despatched back for 
America in three weeks; while other American 
vessels of no greater size, or importance, were de- 
tain' d at Nantes from two or three months. He 



57 

knew also, or ought to have known, that I had 
written a letter address' d to all the commissioners, 
Dr. Franklin, Mr. Deane, and Mr. Arthur Lee, on 
the io 1 . 11 of November, 1777, which was deliver'd to 
Dr. Franklin as eldest commissioner the same day; 
wherein I requested a copy of the Treaties that had 
been proposed to the Courts of France and Spain, 
agreeable to my Instructions from Congress, that I 
might not as a Commissioner of Congress, propose 
any thing repugnant thereto, to the Courts of 
Vienna and Berlin. After these things, and a 
continued series of operations in the public service 
(all of which Mr. Deane was acquainted with) from 
the time I was permitted to act by himself and Dr. 
Franklin until the 4th of December, when the 
news of General Burgoyne's defeat arriv'd at Paris: 
with what face cou'd Mr. Deane make such an as- 
sertion as he has done? Most of these things also, 
being of public notoriety, and capable of being 
prov'd by a multitude of witnesses; can any one 
suppose Mr. Deane so totally ignorant of the Laws 
of England, as to imagine he cou'd think I might 
return "to the exercise of my aldermanship of 
London," without being a madman desirous of 
hanging himself. 

This Gentleman attempts to excuse himself and 
Dr. Franklin for not answering the joint letter of 
Mr. Morris and myself, by laying the blame on 
Mr. Arthur Lee; not a syllable of which was men- 



58 

tion'd at the conference I had in October, 1777, at 
Passy, with all the Commissioners, when Mr. Izard 
was present; and which Mr. Lee has answer' d him- 
self; but he omits to say why my several letters 
from Nantes, as Commercial Agent, on public bus- 
iness, to the Commissioners, were not answer' d, 
and of which I not only complained at the Con- 
ference, but since. In order to invalidate what 
Mr. Izard has written, he totally misstates the pur- 
port of the Letter, which Mr. Izard complains of 
Dr. Franklin and Mr. Deane's refusing to write. 
This letter, as desir'd by me, was a general one to 
all Captains and others, informing them that I was 
a Commercial Agent of the Secret Committee of 
Congress, and that in consequence they ought to 
follow my directions and orders, in all matters re- 
lating to the Commercial business of the Com- 
mittee. 

So far from my proposing the suspension of Mr. 
Morris, I never thought the Commissioners had 
the least shadow of authority to do it. 'Tis cer- 
tain that Mr. Deane not only propos'd the suspen- 
sion of Mr. Morris at this Conference, but at sev- 
eral other times. As a confirmation of this assertion 
I beg leave to give the following extract from Mr. 
Deane's letter to me, dated 

Passy, 18 December, 1777. 

My advice before your appointment (as was well 
known) was to supercede Mr. Morris, and appoint an- 



59 

other, until the pleasure of Congress shou'd be known. 
I was always of the same opinion after your appoint- 
ment, that you ought to conduct the business alone ; 
these are well known to have been my uniform senti- 
ments. 

With regard to the 11 th and is 4 . 11 Articles of the 
Treaty of Commerce, 'tis certain that I did not 
speak to Mr. Deane about them; because his con- 
duct has been such, on almost every occasion, that 
I had determin'd never to speak to him singly on 
any public business whatever; but I spoke to Dr. 
Franklin largely on the subject, and surely Mr. 
Deane cannot forget that when a proposition was 
made to him and Dr. Franklin, by desire of Mr. 
Izard and myself, that we might have a conference 
with them on those articles, they rejected the propo- 
sition with contempt and with insulting terms. 

Mr. Deane labors much to throw an odium on 
me, as wishing to monopolize to myself the places 
both of honor and profit. Probably from the weak- 
ness of his memory, he forgot that in the Com- 
mencement of his address to the public 'he states 
that before September, 1776, he "had the honor 
to be the Commercial 2mA political agent of Amer- 
ica in Europe." He also forgets that the first 
cause of any difference between us was his usurping 
the exercise of the Commercial agency, to which 
Mr. Morris and myself were appointed by the 
Secret Committee, while he was not only one of 



6o 

the Commissioners to the Court of Versailles par- 
ticularly, but generally authoriz'd to that with 
every power in Europe — the influence and patron- 
age of which very extensive commission, he was 
perpetually endeavoring to retain entirely to him- 
self. He also seems to be ignorant of what, I sup- 
pose, is known to most people in Philadelphia, 
that his " Venerable Friend,'' as he calls him, Dr. 
Franklin, is at this moment, not only sole Minis- 
ter Plenipotentiary to the Court of Versailles, but 
also in fact, sole superintending Commercial Agent 
in all Europe. 

I have the honor to be with the greatest Respect 
and consideration your Excellencies Most Obdient 
& Most Hble Serv' W. LEE. 

His Excellency Mr. President Jay at Congress* 

* Endorsed. William Lee's vindication in answer to the pub- 
lication Dec. 5, 1778, signed Silas Deane. Received October 
11, 1779- 



LBJa>3 



REPLY 



OF 



WILLIAM LEE 



TO 



SILAS DEANE. 



1779. 



